14th. Up, and to the office; where Mr. Fryer comes and tells me that there are several Frenchman and Flemish ships in the river with passes from the duke of York for carrying of prisoners, that ought to be parted from the rest of the ships, and their powder taken, lest they do fire themselves when the enemy comes, and so spoil us ; which is good advice, and I think I will give notice of it; and did so. But it is pretty odd to see how every body, even at this high time of danger, puts business off of their own hands! He says that he told this to the lieutenant of the Tower, (to whom I, for the same reason, was directing him to go;) and the lieutenant of the Tower bade him come to us, for he had nothing to do with it. And yesterday comes captain Crew, of one of the fire-ships, and told me that the officers of the ordnance would deliver his gunner's materials, but not compound them, but that we must do it; whereupon I was forced to write to them about it: and one that like a great many come to me this morning. By-and-by comes Mr. Willson, and, by direction of his, a man of Mr. Gauden's; who are come from Chatham last night, and saw the three ships burnt, they lying all dry, and boats going from the men-of-war to fire them. But that that he tells me of worst consequence is, that he himself (I think he said) did hear many Englishmen on board the Dutch ships speaking to one another in English and that they did cry and say, "We did heretofore fight for tickets; now we fight for dollars!" and did ask how such and such a one did, and would commend themselves to them which is a sad consideration. And Mr. Lewes (who was present at this fellow's discourse to me) did tell me, that he is told that when they took "The Royal Charles," they said that they had their tickets signed (and showed some), and that now they come to have them paid, and would have them paid before they parted. And several seamen come this morning to me, to tell me that if I would get their tickets paid they would go and do all they could against the Dutch; but otherwise they would not venture being killed, and lose all they have already fought for so that I was forced to try what I could do to get them paid. This man tells me that the ships burnt last night did lie above Upner Castle, over against the dock; and the boats come from the ships of war and burnt them: all which is very sad. And masters of ships that are lately taken up, do keep from their ships all their stores, or as much as they can, so that we can dispatch them, having not time to appraise them, nor secure their payment. Only some little money we have, which we are fain to pay the men we have with every night, or they will not work. And indeed the hearts as well as affections of the seamen are turned away; and in the open streets in Wapping, and up and down, the wives have cried publicly, "This comes of your not paying our husbands; and now your work is undone, or done by hands that understand it not.” And sir W. Batten told me that he was himself affronted with a woman, in language of this kind, on Tower-hill publicly yesterday; and we are fain to bear it, and to keep one at the office-door to let no idle people in, for fear of firing of the office and doing us mischief. The city is troubled at their being put upon duty: summoned one hour, and discharged two hours after: and then again summoned two hours after that; to their great charge as well as trouble. And Pelling the potticary, tells me the world says all over, that less charge than what the kingdom is put to, of one kind or other, by this business, would have set out all our great ships. It is said they did in open streets yesterday, at Westminster, cry, A parliament! a parliament !" and I do believe it will cost blood to answer for these miscarriages. We do not hear that the Dutch are come to Gravesend; which is a wonder. But a wonderful thing it is that to this day, we have not one word yet from Brouncker, or Peter Pett, or J. Minnes, of any thing at Chatham. The people that come hither to hear how things go, make me ashamed to be found unable to answer them: for I am left alone here at the office; and the truth is, I am glad my station is to be here, near my own home and out of danger, to break the chain. I have this morning good news from Tay in an rằng về nông che ông good service. Gilson; tha kohas fem three several stages, that we was safe last night as far as Royston, or Hoore and ten at night. The dismay that is upon us all, in the bisness of the kam and navy at this day, is not to be expressed otherwise than by the condour itizens were in when the city was on fire, nobody knowing which wou to turn themselves, while every thing concurred to greaten the fire; as here the easterly gale and spring-tides for coming up both rivers, and enabling them D. Gauden did tell me yesterday, that the day before at the council they were ready to fall together by the ears at the council-table, arraigning one another of being guilty of the counsel that brought us into this misery, by laying up all the great ships. Mr. Hater tells me at noon that some rude people have been, as he hears, at my lord chancellor's, where they have cut down the trees before his house and broke his windows; and a gibbet either set up before or painted upon his gate, and these three words writ: "Three sights to be seen; Dunkirk, Tangier, and a barren Queen." It gives great matter of talk that it is said there is at this hour, in the Exchequer, as much money as is ready to break down the floor. This arises, I believe, from sir G. Downing's late talk of the greatness of the sum lying there of people's money that they would not fetch away, which he showed me and a great many others. Most people that I speak with are in doubt how we shall do to secure our seamen from running over to the Dutch; which is a sad but very true consideration at this day. At noon I am told that my lord duke of Albemarle is made lord high constable; the meaning whereof at this time I know not, nor whether it be true or no. Dined, and Mr. Hater and W. Hewer with me; where they do speak very sorrowfully of the posture of the times, and how people do cry in the streets of their being bought and sold; and both they and every body that come to me do tell me that people make nothing of talking treason in the streets openly; as, that they are bought and sold, and governed by papists, and that we are betrayed by people about the king, and shall be delivered up to the French, and I know not what. At dinner we discoursed of Tom of the wood, a fellow that lives like a hermit near Woolwich, who, as they say (and Mr. Bodham, they tell me, affirms that he was by at the justices when some did accuse him there for it), did foretell the burning of the city, and now says that a greater desolation is at hand. Thence we read and laughed at Lilly's prophecies this month, in his almanack this year. So to the office after dinner; and thither comes Mr. Pierce, who tells me his condition, how he cannot get his money (about £500 which, he says, is a very great part of what he hath for his family and children) out of Viner's hand and indeed it is to be feared that this will wholly undo the bankers. He says he knows nothing of the late affronts to my lord chancellor's house, as is said, nor hears of the duke of Albemarle's being made high constable; but says that they are in great distraction at Whitehall, and that everywhere people do speak high against sir W. Coventry:* but he agrees with me, that he is the best minister of state the king hath, and so from my heart I believe. At night come home sir W. Batten and W. Pen, who only can tell me that they have placed guns at Woolwich and Deptford, and sunk some ships below Woolwich and Blackwall, and are in hopes that they will stop the enemy's coming up. But strange our confusion! that among them that are sunk they have gone and sunk without consideration "The Franclin," one of the king's ships with stores to a very considerable value, that hath been long loaded for supply of the ships; and the new ship at Bristoll, and much wanted there. And nobody will own that they directed it, but do lay it on sir W. Rider. They speak also of another ship loaded to the value of 80,000l. sunk with the goods in her or at least * Evelyn says it was owing to sir W. C. that no fleet was fitted out in 1667. was mightily contended for by him, and a foreign ship that had the faith of the nation for her security: this sir R. Ford tells us. And it is too plain a truth, that both here and at Chatham the ships that we have sunk have many, and the first of them, been ships completely fitted for fire-ships at great charge. But most strange the backwardness and disorder of all people, especially the king's people in pay, to do any work (sir W. Pen tells me), all crying out for money. And it was so at Chatham that this night comes an order from sir W. Coventry to stop the pay of the wages of that yard, the duke of Albemarle having related, that not above three of 1100 in pay there did attend to do any work there. This evening having sent a messenger to Chatham on purpose, we have received a dull letter from my lord Brouncker and Peter Pett, how matters have gone there this week; but not so much or so particularly, as we knew it by common talk before, and as true. I doubt they will be found to have been but slow men in this business; and they say the duke of Albemarle did tell my lord Brouncker to his face that his discharging of the great ships there was the cause of all this and I am told that it is become common talk against my lord Brouncker. But in that he is to be justified, for he did it by verbal order from sir W. Coventry, and with good intent; and it was to good purpose, whatever the success be, for the men would have but spent the king so much the more in wages, and yet not attended on board to have done the king any service. And as an evidence of that, just now, being the 15th day in the morning that I am writing yesterday's passages, one is with me, Jacob Bryan, purser of "The Princess," who confesses to me that he hath but 180 men borne at this day in victuals and wages on that ship lying at Chatham, being lately brought in thither; of which 180 there was not above five appeared to do the king any service at this late business. And this morning also, some of the Cambridge's men come up from Portsmouth by order from sir Fretcheville Hollis, who boasted to us the other day that he had sent for fifty, and would be hanged if 100 did not come up that would do as much as twice the number of other men: I say some of them, instead of being at work at Deptford, where they were intended, do come to the office this morning to demand the payment of their tickets; for otherwise they would, they said, do no more work; and are, as I understand from everybody that has to do with them, the most debauched, damning, swearing rogues that ever were in the navy, just like their prophane commander. 15th. All the morning at the office. No news more than last night; only purser Tyler comes and tells me that he being at all the passages in this business at Chatham, he says there have been horrible miscarriages, such as we shall shortly hear of: that the want of boats hath undone us; and it is commonly said, that sir J. Minnes under his hand tells us, that they were employed by the men of the yard to carry away their goods; and I hear that commissioner Pett will be found the first man that began to remove; he is much spoken against, and Brouncker is complained of, and reproached for discharging the men of the great ships heretofore. 18th. Great news to-night of the blowing up of one of the Dutch's greatest ships, while a council of war was on board: the latter part, I doubt, is not so, it not being confirmed since; but the former, that they had a ship blown up, is said to be true. 21st. This day comes news from Harwich that the Dutch fleet are all in sight, near 100 sail great and small, they think coming towards them; where, they think, they shall be able to oppose them; but do cry out of the falling back of the seamen, few standing by them, and those with much faintness. The like they write from Portsmouth, and their letters this post are worth reading. Sir H. Cholmly come to me this day, and tells me the court is as mad as ever; and that the night the Dutch burned our ships, the king did sup with my lady Castlemaine, at the duchess of Monmouth's, and there were all mad in the hunting of a poor moth. All the court afraid of a parliament; but he thinks nothing can save us but the king's giving up all to a parliament. 22nd. In the evening come captain Hart and Hayward to me about the six merchant ships now taken up for men-of-war; and in talking they told me about the taking of "The Royal Charles;" that nothing but carelessness lost the ship, for they might have saved her the very tide that the Dutch came up, if they would have but used means and had had but boats; and that the want of boats plainly lost all the other ships. That the Dutch did take her with a boat of nine men, who found not a man on board her, (and her laying so near them was a main temptation to them to come on :) and presently a man went up and struck her flag and jack, and a trumpeter sounded upon her "Joan's placket is torn: "* that they did carry her down at a time, both for tides and wind, when the best pilot in Chatham would not have undertaken it, they heeling her on one side to make her draw little water: and so carried her away safe. 30. To Rochester about ten of the clock. At the landing-place I met my lord Bronneker and my lord Douglas, and all the officers of the soldiers in the town, waiting there for the duke of York, whom they heard was coming. By and by comes my lord Middleton, well mounted; he seems a fine soldier, and so everybody says he is; and a man like my lond Tiviott, and indeed most of the Scotch gentry (as I observe,) of few wonds. After seeing the boats come up from Chatham with them that rowed with bandeleers about their shoulders, and muskets in their boats; they being the workmen of the yard, who have promised to redeem their credit, lost by their deserting the service when the Dutch were there; I and Creed down by boat to Chatham yard. Thence to see the batteries made; which indeed are very fine, and guns placed so as one would think the river should be very secure. Here I was told that in all the late attempt there was but one man that they knew killed on shore; and that was a man that had laid upon his belly upon one of the hills on the other side of the river, to see the action; and a bullet come, and so he was killed. Thence by bago, it raining hard, down to the chain; and in our way did see the sad wrecks of the poor “ Royal Oak,” ·James,” and “ London ;” and several other of our ships by us sank, and several of the enemy's, whereof three men-of-war that they could not get off, and so burned. I do not see that Upmer Castle had received any hurt by them, though they played long against it ; and they themselves shot til they had hardly a gun left upon the carriages, so hadly provided they were Z they have now made two batteries on that side, which will be very good, and ào good service. So to the chain, and there saw it fast at the end on Tpmer side of the river; very fast, små barne np upon the several stages across the river; and where it is broke nobody can tell me, I went on shore on Timer side to look upon the end of the chain; and caused the link to be measured, and it was six inches and one-fonach in circumference. It seems very remarkable to me, and of great homom to the Dutch, that those of them that did go on shore to Gülingham, Thongi they went in four of their lives, and were some of them killed, and notwithstanding their prevocation, at Scelling, yet killed none of our people not plundered their houses, bụi để take some thing of east, enzringe and left the rest, and not a house burned ; and, which is to our eternal disgrace, that what my lore. Douglas's men, who come after them, found there, they plundered and took al away; and the watermer that euroù us dà further tell us, that our own soldiers are far more terrible to those people of the county towns than the Dutch themselves. We were told at the batteries, upon my seeing of the hell guns that were then, that hat they come a un sooner, they had boot, able to havesered all; but they had no orders, and lay imgering * Placket: the oper part af n womar le pettinost. upon the way. Several complaints, I hear, of the "Monmouth's "coming away too soon from the chain, where she was placed with the two guard-ships to secure it; and captain Robert Clerke, my friend, is blamed for so doing there, but I hear nothing of him at London about it; but captain Brookes's running aground with the "Sancta Maria," which was one of the three ships that were ordered to be sunk to have dammed up the river at the chain, is mightily cried against, and with reason. The first information of the plot was given by one Dr. Tongue, in August, 1678; but the king, who was by no means deficient in penetration, pronounced it to be a forgery, and it might have slept for ever, had not the duke of York, whose confessor was implicated, judged an inquiry necessary to clear himself from all suspicion. Tongue professed to have his information from Oates, and having brought the principal actor on the stage, took no further part in the action of the piece. On Michaelmas-eve Oates was examined before the council, and deposed to the existence of a most extensive conspiracy among the Jesuits, to murder the king. He indicated Coleman, formerly secretary to the duke of York, and at that time to the duchess, as being acquainted with all the schemes under consideration. The effect of this announcement is thus described by a most amiable and unprejudiced contemporary. "October 1, 1678. The parliament and the whole nation were alarmed about a conspiracy of some eminent papists, for the destruction of the king, and introduction of Popery, discovered by one Oates and Dr. Tongue, which last I knew. I went to see and converse with him at Whitehall, with Mr. Oates, one that was lately an apostate to the church of Rome, and now returned again with this discovery. He seemed to be a bold man, and, in my thoughts, furiously indiscreet; but every body believed what he said, and it quite changed the genius and motions of the parliament, growing now corrupt, and interested with long sitting and court practices; but with all this popery would not go down. This discovery turned them all as one man against it, and nothing was done but to find out the depth of this. Oates was encouraged, and everything he affirmed taken for gospel. The truth is, the Roman catholics were exceedingly bold and busy everywhere, since the duke forbore to go any longer to the chapel." Coleman had notice of his danger, and secreted a part, but not the whole, of his papers. The remainder were seized, and clearly proved that he had maintained a correspondence with the confessor of Louis XIV., the object of which was the reconversion of England. Besides appearing before the council, Oates made oath to the truth of his narrative, which he published, before Sir Edmondbury Godfrey, a zealous protestant, and active justice of peace, and yet one that lived on good terms both with non-conformists and papists. Very shortly afterwards Godfrey was murdered. He was found in a ditch, with his own sword sticking in his body, which had not been plundered; and marks of strangling were thought to be visible about his neck, and some contusions on his breast. It has ever been a mystery by whom this crime was perpetrated; it was of course charged on the papists, and retorted by them on the contrivers and assertors of the plot. But the support given to Oates's story by Evelyn's Memoirs. ** B |